mtn.goat
New member
Well I had been planning this hike for quite some time as I seem to be stuck in this cycle of topping my previous hike (almost like I'm competing against myself 
) having already done the Escarpment Hike and Devil's Path in the past few weeks. I almost had to cancel the whole trip but at the last minute things changed and I was again able to do the hike.
I started at the Roostercomb Trailhead (I thought the Great Range Traverse included this but it seems that not everyone includes Roostercomb and Hedgehog in their traverse) at 4AM. I knew it was going to be a warm day because I could already feel a warm breeze and it was only 4AM ! It was the first time I've hiked at night and I really enjoyed it. I found that the trail markers glow at night just like traffic signs on the highway. I made it up to Roostercomb in about 45 minutes watched the sun begin to rise and then took off. The trail was really washed out in sections due to the rains the previous week or two. This was my first time hiking most of these mountains (except for Marcy) so it was really nice to see all this "new stuff" and scenery. I plodded along at my usual pace up and over Lower and Upper Wolf Jaw enjoying being back in the Adk's (first time for the summer) having done my previous two big hikes in the Catskills. Due to the false summits I was having a hard time gauging where I was on the trail and the false/incorrect mileages on the trail signs didn't make matters any easier. They all seemed to disagree with each other. Most of the peaks were a blur.
I definately enjoyed the breeze or rather I should say gusts of wind at the peaks (the wind was strong enough to force me to lean into it at times). I quickly made it over Armstrong, Gothics. I found that my pace was being slowed by the downhill stretches and I definately didn't enjoy going down Gotchics via the cables or the frequent climbs that I had to climb down. I kept finding myself dropping my poles down and then climbing down to them.
It was definately getting hot out and I found that I had drank my whole 4liter supply of water by the time I was at the base of Saddleback. I was worried about getting dehydrated and knew that making it to Marcy by 11 or 12 was less important than refueling my water supplies (although I was still very well hydrated). I ended up filtering water out of the biggest puddles I could find and after a long delay (I had to go to 2 different puddles just to get a liter of water ) I proceeded up Saddleback. I enjoyed the views from the peaks but it was hazy out. I put some suntan lotion on (which should have been frequently reapplied in retrospect due to the heat and sweating) and eventually made it to Basin. My knees were starting to ache a little and the enormous descent down and then climb of Haystack and Marcy was not making me very happy but I knew I had to do it. I kept repeating only two more peaks to go then 9 miles of downhill. Going down Basin was by far the worst descent of the whole trip and I ended up getting a nice scrape on one knee and an elbow along the way.
I filtered some water at the bottom and then proceeded to start the climb up to haystack. I was kind of disappointed at how long it was taking me to do the hike seeing as it was about a quarter to 11 or so and I still hadn't summited Haystack. I ran into Guinness near the top of Little Haystack and felt better after he informed me that I was flying. Made it to the top of Haystack sometime after 11 and sat and realaxed for a bit talking to Guinness and another hiker from Albany. I could see Marcy in the distance and knew that the day was almost done. I proceeded on wishing Guinness and the other hiker good luck. I started down and then back up to the summit of Marcy plodding along and drinking frequently. At the base of the "alpine area" I got some new energy (it could've been the fact that I was annoyed at the damn tourists who kept wining about how hot it was... and they had no idea how far i had come) and flew up to the summit of Marcy blowing by people along the way. It felt great and I made it from that start of the alpine area to the summit in about 5-10 minutes and was on top at 1:00. I stopped at the top for a rest and was surprised that there was only about 20 people on top (the heat must've scared most people away). I was surprised that it had taken me so long to make it to Marcy at roughly 8 hours of hiking or 9 hours with breaks over around 16-17 miles.
The 9 mile hike out to the garden was pretty uneventful except for a fawn and it's mother that I scared. I spoke to a DEC Ranger at the DEC post down near JBL who was really nice. I switched back onto autopilot and found myself at the garden at 4:30... 12.5 hours since I had started. I got a ride from the shuttle bus and did the 3 hour drive back to my house enjoying the AC and marveling at the fact that the temp gauge in my jeep read 85 which considering that it was 5PM meant that it had gotten really hot that day. I ended up going through 9 liters of water.
As for the heat... it's strange to say but i didn't mind it as much as i thought i would've, i guess i'm getting used to it... I went through alot of water and sweated up a storm but I didn't feel like i was going to melt or anything (although don't get me wrong I didn't enjoy the heat one bit or the rediculous humidity). Just like on the Devil's Path a few weeks prior I found that i would reach a level on the climbs where I couldn't possibly get any hotter and I just had to deal with being sweaty and I would reach the summit, cool off, do the descent and do the whole thing all over again. My knees ached on the ride home but I woke up the next day feeling great without any aches or soreness. Now all that's left is to plan the next big hike/challenge .
) having already done the Escarpment Hike and Devil's Path in the past few weeks. I almost had to cancel the whole trip but at the last minute things changed and I was again able to do the hike. I started at the Roostercomb Trailhead (I thought the Great Range Traverse included this but it seems that not everyone includes Roostercomb and Hedgehog in their traverse) at 4AM. I knew it was going to be a warm day because I could already feel a warm breeze and it was only 4AM
! It was the first time I've hiked at night and I really enjoyed it. I found that the trail markers glow at night just like traffic signs on the highway. I made it up to Roostercomb in about 45 minutes watched the sun begin to rise and then took off. The trail was really washed out in sections due to the rains the previous week or two. This was my first time hiking most of these mountains (except for Marcy) so it was really nice to see all this "new stuff" and scenery. I plodded along at my usual pace up and over Lower and Upper Wolf Jaw enjoying being back in the Adk's (first time for the summer) having done my previous two big hikes in the Catskills. Due to the false summits I was having a hard time gauging where I was on the trail and the false/incorrect mileages on the trail signs didn't make matters any easier. They all seemed to disagree with each other. Most of the peaks were a blur. I definately enjoyed the breeze or rather I should say gusts of wind at the peaks (the wind was strong enough to force me to lean into it at times). I quickly made it over Armstrong, Gothics. I found that my pace was being slowed by the downhill stretches and I definately didn't enjoy going down Gotchics via the cables or the frequent climbs that I had to climb down. I kept finding myself dropping my poles down and then climbing down to them.
It was definately getting hot out and I found that I had drank my whole 4liter supply of water by the time I was at the base of Saddleback. I was worried about getting dehydrated and knew that making it to Marcy by 11 or 12 was less important than refueling my water supplies (although I was still very well hydrated). I ended up filtering water out of the biggest puddles I could find and after a long delay (I had to go to 2 different puddles just to get a liter of water
) I proceeded up Saddleback. I enjoyed the views from the peaks but it was hazy out. I put some suntan lotion on (which should have been frequently reapplied in retrospect due to the heat and sweating) and eventually made it to Basin. My knees were starting to ache a little and the enormous descent down and then climb of Haystack and Marcy was not making me very happy but I knew I had to do it. I kept repeating only two more peaks to go then 9 miles of downhill. Going down Basin was by far the worst descent of the whole trip and I ended up getting a nice scrape on one knee and an elbow along the way. I filtered some water at the bottom and then proceeded to start the climb up to haystack. I was kind of disappointed at how long it was taking me to do the hike seeing as it was about a quarter to 11 or so and I still hadn't summited Haystack. I ran into Guinness near the top of Little Haystack and felt better after he informed me that I was flying. Made it to the top of Haystack sometime after 11 and sat and realaxed for a bit talking to Guinness and another hiker from Albany. I could see Marcy in the distance and knew that the day was almost done. I proceeded on wishing Guinness and the other hiker good luck. I started down and then back up to the summit of Marcy plodding along and drinking frequently. At the base of the "alpine area" I got some new energy (it could've been the fact that I was annoyed at the damn tourists who kept wining about how hot it was... and they had no idea how far i had come) and flew up to the summit of Marcy blowing by people along the way. It felt great and I made it from that start of the alpine area to the summit in about 5-10 minutes and was on top at 1:00. I stopped at the top for a rest and was surprised that there was only about 20 people on top (the heat must've scared most people away). I was surprised that it had taken me so long to make it to Marcy at roughly 8 hours of hiking or 9 hours with breaks over around 16-17 miles.
The 9 mile hike out to the garden was pretty uneventful except for a fawn and it's mother that I scared. I spoke to a DEC Ranger at the DEC post down near JBL who was really nice. I switched back onto autopilot and found myself at the garden at 4:30... 12.5 hours since I had started. I got a ride from the shuttle bus and did the 3 hour drive back to my house enjoying the AC and marveling at the fact that the temp gauge in my jeep read 85 which considering that it was 5PM meant that it had gotten really hot that day
. I ended up going through 9 liters of water. As for the heat... it's strange to say but i didn't mind it as much as i thought i would've, i guess i'm getting used to it... I went through alot of water and sweated up a storm but I didn't feel like i was going to melt or anything (although don't get me wrong I didn't enjoy the heat one bit or the rediculous humidity). Just like on the Devil's Path a few weeks prior I found that i would reach a level on the climbs where I couldn't possibly get any hotter and I just had to deal with being sweaty and I would reach the summit, cool off, do the descent and do the whole thing all over again. My knees ached on the ride home but I woke up the next day feeling great without any aches or soreness. Now all that's left is to plan the next big hike/challenge
.
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